Satisfactory Academic Process

Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to monitor your academic progress toward the completion of your degree. Your entire academic history at EMU (including transfer or consortium agreement credits and periods during which no federal aid was received) is reviewed to ensure timely progression toward graduation. This monitoring process is called Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).

Academic progress is evaluated each semester of enrollment (including summer) using three factors:

Grade point average (GPA)

Percentage of attempted credit hours completed (completion rate)

Maximum credits of eligibility (MCE) in which to complete a degree

Failure to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress will result in cancellation of eligibility to receive funds from Federal Title IV, state or university financial aid programs.*

Undergraduate students are required to:

Maintain a 2.00 cumulative EMU GPA

Complete at least 67% of all attempted credit hours

Complete a degree program in a maximum time frame of no more than 150% of the program’s average length (example: 124 credit hours required to graduate X 1.5 = 186)

Graduate students are required to:

Maintain a 3.00 cumulative EMU GPA

Complete and pass a minimum of 67% of the credit hours attempted

Complete a degree program within the time limits specified for their program in EMU Graduate School time to degree policy.

Warning

Students who fail to meet the above requirements of SAP are placed on a warning status. While on warning, students are eligible to receive financial aid. Students may receive aid for a total of one semester on warning status.

Students not meeting these Satisfactory Academic Progress standards will receive communication via email to their emich email address.

Cancellation

Students will no longer be eligible for financial aid if any of the following occurs:

Following one semester of warning, the student fails to meet the minimum SAP requirements.

Student has attempted the maximum credits of eligibility allowed for their program of study.

Students on cancellation will receive communication via email to their my.emich email account and a letter mailed to their permanent address.

Why am I not making Satisfactory Academic Progress when I have no failing grades?

Federal regulations require that the SAP review include all credit hours a student has attempted, including repeated and withdrawn courses as reflected on your academic record. Although withdrawing from a class may help your GPA, a "W" is still considered a course that was attempted, but not completed, for determination of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Treatment of Withdrawals

Students who withdraw from all classes in a semester may be required to return some, or all, of the financial aid paid to their student account. Students must maintain a 67% completion rate in order to be eligible for federal aid. Students should contact the Office of Financial Aid to discuss the consequences of a withdrawal.

Treatment of Grades Indicating Non-Completion of a Course

Students who receive grades of I, IP, NC or N grade have failed to complete a course. These grades negatively affect the completion rate.

Students who receive a grade of E or F have failed a course. Grades of E and F negatively affect completion rate and GPA.

If a course is repeated, all attempts will be included in the calculation of a student’s completion rate and maximum time frame. The most recent grade is factored into the cumulative GPA.

Remedial/English as a Second Language (ESL) Courses

Required remedial and ESL courses are calculated into the completion rate and GPA and are used in reviewing SAP criteria. However, only courses at 100 level or higher count toward graduation requirements.

Second/Additional Majors or Degrees

If a student elects to double major, complete more than one degree at a time, and/or start a degree and then change majors, all classes previously taken will still be used in the evaluation of SAP. Each time a degree is conferred the student’s SAP status resets and only classes taken from that point forward are included in SAP calculations.

Audit/No Credit courses

Audit or No Credit courses are not eligible for financial aid and they will not be included in enrollment for consideration of aid.

Transfer Courses

Transfer credits accepted at EMU are used to calculate the student’s remaining eligibility under the maximum time frame and included in the completion rate calculation. Transfer credits accepted at EMU are counted as both attempted and earned in the calculation of completion rate. Transfer courses are not used in the calculation of cumulative EMU GPA.

Appeal Process

Students who had extenuating circumstances which resulted in failure to maintain SAP may appeal the cancellation. An appeal may be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid Review Committee no later than the following dates:

Receiving aid in Fall 2017, appeal by September 11, 2017

Receiving aid in Winter 2018, appeal by January 8, 2018

Receiving aid in Summer 2018, appeal by May 7, 2018

If you are appealing to receive financial aid for

Your appeal needs to be received by our office by

Fall 2017

September 11, 2017

Winter 2018

January 8, 2018

Summer 2018

May 7, 2018

SAP cancellation appeals for GPA and/or CR must include the following:

SAP cancellation appeals for undergraduate students with MCE violations must include the following:

The Review Committee may consider a significant change in major when reviewing MCE. However, multiple majors and minors, and/or excessive E, I, N or W grades or repeated courses are not adequate reasons for exceeding the MCE requirement. Appeals submitted for these reasons alone cannot be approved.

Appeal decisions are sent to the student’s EMU email address. If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on probation status and will be eligible to receive financial aid for a period of one semester after a contract has been signed by the student. The contract will provide conditions the student is required to meet for their probationary semester.

A student may regain financial aid eligibility by meeting the SAP standards if an appeal is denied or never submitted.

Re-Establishing Eligibility

If your eligibility has been cancelled and you do not meet the appeal criteria, you will regain eligibility automatically once you are meeting the SAP criteria on your own. This means that once your completion rate reaches 67% and your cumulative grade point average is 2.0 (3.0 for graduate students) you will be back in good standing and eligible for future aid. You will not need to contact our office. We check SAP status for all students at the end of each semester after grades are posted.

Calculating Completion Rate

Divide the number of earned degree hours into the number of attempted degree hours.

Example: 125 (earned hours) ÷ 131 (attempted hours) = 95%

Passed and attempted degree hours are found under the Student tab of your my.emich account. (Click on Student Services, Student Records and Academic Transcript).

Calculating Your Grade Point Average

List your courses (whether all or just those in a major or minor) and the credits and grade for each course.

Use the chart below to determine the grade points for each course (this is determined by multiplying the grade points by the number of credits for the course).

Add up all of the grade points. Divide this total by the total number of credit hours included. The result will be your grade point average, using the scale in our current university computer system.

REMEMBER: EMU requires that all undergraduates have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher before they can be approved for graduation. This minimum also applies to the student’s major and minor programs. Some programs of study require more than these minimum conditions for graduation. Students whose cumulative grade point average falls below 2.0 or completion rate falls below a 67% may also be placed on academic probation with the university, or, if the deficit is substantial, may be subject to academic dismissal. Questions regarding these policies, especially as they relate to academic probation, should be referred to the University Advising and Career Development Center (200 McKenny Hall; 734.487.0400).